June 11, 2008: Members of the United Transportation Union, which represents approximately 45,000 employees of more than 30 freight railroads, have voted to ratify a retroactive collective bargaining agreement that provides a 17 percent wage increase over five years, according to a June 10 announcement by UTU. The tentative agreement was reached in January between the union and the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents over 30 freight railroads, after a negotiation process of...

June 9, 2008: Starting at 9 AM this morning, 1,250 Teamster carhaulers went on strike at Peformance Transportation Services. Officers from local unions that represent Teamsters at PTS unanimously approved the strike in a vote on Friday. Earlier that day, a judge in a bankruptcy court approved a company proposal to slash wages by 15 percent. PTS’s bankruptcy court maneuver was part of an end-around the bargaining process that started when the company unilaterally announced...

June 9, 2008: The International Brotherhood of Teamsters sent its members on strike at 9 this morning against the nation's No. 2 car hauler in the United States in a dispute over court-approved pay cuts and other contract issues. The union is upset that Performance Transportation Services, which delivers 2.7 million vehicles a year including 10,400 vehicles a day for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., won federal bankruptcy court approval...

June 6, 2008: A U.S. bankruptcy court judge approved PTS’s request for a 15 percent wage cut. Will a strike by Teamster carhaulers be next? A bankruptcy judge approved a company request to slash by 15 percent the wages of 1,300 Teamster carhaulers at Performance Transportation Services. The wage cut takes effect today and is authorized through July 31, 2008. The decision by the judge comes after PTS announced they would pull out of the...

June 4, 2008: Major change of operations at Yellow, Roadway and Holland will be implemented in July, after gaining union approval in decisions issued May 29; some were revised on June 3. ABF has now submitted its own proposed change to implement the new utility employee language in the NMFA. The decisions, as revised, in the YRC cases and the proposed ABF change are available here: Roadway velocity change decision Yellow velocity change decision Holland...

June 3, 2008: A New York feeder driver who reported a safety problem was rewarded by management with a 72-hour notice. Fortunately, Local 804 Teamster Joe Miller stuck to his guns. The result? The company fixed the safety problem and dropped the 72-hour notice. Click here to read the full story of how Miller beat management retaliation at 804membersunited.org, the independent website of Local 804 Teamsters.

June 3, 2008: Last week DHL announced major cuts, including eliminating many outlying stations, outsourcing more delivery to the post office, and contracting out its air operations to UPS. Click here to see DHL management’s presentation of their restructuring plan.

June 3, 2008: Teamster owner-operators may see a little more money in their pockets if Congress passes a new law stopping middlemen from skimming fuel surcharges. Under the proposed new rules, 100 percent of fuel surcharges paid by shippers would go directly to owner-operators. Some Teamster drivers in carhaul, freight-hauling and other fields are owner-operators who are victimized by employer skimming of the surcharge. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association helped Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and...

June 2, 2008: Major change of operations at Yellow, Roadway and Holland will be implemented in July, after gaining union approval in decisions issued May 29. Now, ABF is preparing its own change of operations proposal, which will be submitted soon (Previously, we published a proposed velocity change by ABF; however, that proposal may be modified or expanded.). The May 29 decisions on the YRC changes are available here: Roadway velocity change decision Yellow velocity...

May 28, 2008: DHL unveiled a far-reaching restructuring of its troubled U.S. express business Wednesday that includes a sharp pullback in its operations and outsourcing its air transport business to competitor UPS. John Allan, chief financial officer of DHL parent Deutsche Post World Net, called the moves "radical and decisive actions" but said it will still leave DHL losing $3 billion between 2008 and 2011. DHL said it will eliminate about 34 percent of its...